CRUZ BLANCA BREWERY & TAQUERÍA | 904 WEST RANDOLPH ST | CHICAGO | 312-733-1975
LOCATION AND HOURS
ADDRESS:
904 W. Randolph St.
Chicago, IL 60607
HOURS:
Open at 11am Tuesday – Friday. Open at 10am Saturday – Sunday. Closed Mondays.
Sunday Funday: Half-priced brewers choice draft beer.
Taco Tuesday: Chorizo-Potato Tacos all day $4/each or $2/each 4-6 p.m.
Baja Fish Taco Friday: Baja Fish Tacos are here! Come and get them, all day long.
Wednesday-Friday: $3 brewers choice draft beer and $3 Milagro Tequila shots 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Looking for Cruz Blanca gift cards? Shop here!
Cruz Blanca does accept some reservations, but our seating is mainly communal and on a first-come, first-serve basis.
For groups of 12 or more, please email us:
info@cruzblanca.com
BREWERY
Inspired by Mexico. Brewed for Chicago.
Cruz Blanca is a small-batch Chicago brewery passionately focused on ModMex lagers, sunny IPA’s and tropical wild-fermented sours. Inspired by the original Cruz Blanca Brewery that opened in Mexico City in the 1860’s.
Download menus in PDF format:
Rick and Deann Bayless, Proprietors
Manny Valdes, Proprietor
Jacob Sembrano, Brewmaster
TAQUERÍA
Cruz Blanca’s taquería takes its inspiration from the “smoke alley” at Oaxaca’s Mercado 20 de Noviembre, where thick plumes of smoke foretell the primal pleasures of wood-grilled meats.
Here, you’ll choose your main attraction —half-cured flank tasajo, red chile pork cecina, chorizo, chicken or portobello— and our taqueros will pile it all on a big beer tray with accompaniments of wood-grilled knob onions and peppers, smoky Oaxacan pasilla salsa, guacamole, crunchy pico de gallo, and limey cucumbers. And, of course, a stack of fresh-made tortillas.
Not into tacos? We also offer Oaxcan-style tlayudas — gigantic 14-inch, shareable tostadas with black bean spread, cheese, grilled knob onions, güero chile, green salsa and your choice of wood-grilled protein.
CATERING & EVENTS
FIESTA FRIENDLY FARE FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT
Plan the perfect fiesta with crowd-pleasing fare from award-winning chef Rick Bayless. Our catering and private events menus are filled with soul satisfying flavors from Mexico.
Your guests can make their own tacos with our house-made corn tortillas and choose from an array of toppings. Include our freshly–made guacamole, amazing sides, and stellar house-beers for a fun fiesta spread at Cruz Blanca or packaged to go for your catered event.
Cruz Blanca Upstairs Taproom
ABOUT CRUZ BLANCA BREWERY & TAQUERÍA
Tacos y Cerveza.
Emil Dercher, a brewer working in the great Alstatian technique of bottle-conditioning and using local botanicals, left France and made his way to Mexico City, where he sold beers under the Cruz Blanca label. It’s in that same adventurous spirit that we’ve reestablished Cruz Blanca Brewery in Chicago.
Cruz Blanca is a place to settle in and sample craft beers served with tasty tacos, tlayudas and chilled vibes.
OUR TEAM
CESAR AGUILAR
GENERAL MANAGER Cesar has built his passion and creativity for mixology (and beer, of course) while running a few of Chicago’s top bar programs, such as Mercadito: he understands how welcoming hospitality, and setting the ‘just right’ mood, are equally as important as the ingredients in the glass. At Cruz Blanca, Cesar has introduced more local spirits for fresh cocktails that compliment Jacob’s amazing beers.
JACOB SEMBRANO
HEAD BREWER Hailing from Austin, Texas, Jacob is a former fast-food cook, cheesemonger, line cook and sous chef in various snout-to-tail restaurants. After leaving The Bristol in Chicago, where he worked as a cook, Jacob began brewing beer at Goose Island Clybourn and became the head brewer. At Cruz Blanca, he says his responsibility is creating beer with a meaning and an inspiration behind it.
TODD WHITE
ASSISTANT BREWER & MANAGER Todd met the love of his life, who currently works for Goose Island, over beers in his native Australia. After getting married, they both spent time at a West Coast (of the USA) brewery. Now in Chicago, Todd has become Cruz Blanca’s jack-of-all-trades. Whether it’s crafting brews with Jacob, managing the floor or manning a bar, there’s guaranteed to be “warm smiles and cold beers.” Instagram: toddwhitecorn
ILIANA LOZA
SOUS CHEF Born and raised in Chicago, Chef Iliana is inspired by the bounty of seasonal produce and locally raised protein to be found in the Midwest, and utilized in new ways to create Cruz Blanca’s Oaxacan cuisine. Following in the footsteps of her father, who also cooked on the line and now runs a pasta shop, Chef Iliana has been preparing for this role her entire life. Instagram ila2011
STEPHEN SANDOVAL
SOUS CHEF Stephen has worked around the world from New Orleans to Mexico City to Argentina but is rooted by his childhood in San Diego. His father owned a car wash in Tijuana and they would go hunting together in Mexicali. Stephen has been braving Cruz Blanca’s roaring fire with a GoPro camera, filming his day to day culinary adventures. Instagram chefsand
ROBERTO CALDERON
SOUS CHEF Roberto joins us after several years with the BOKA Restaurant Group, more specifically our delicious neighbor Little Goat. Prior to that, Roberto was at Frontera Grill and Topolobampo for more than a decade! We are super excited to welcome Chef Roberto back, and Cruz Blanca’s Oaxacan specialty dishes have never tasted better.
LINNEA COULTER
MANAGER Cruz Blanca, of Chef Rick Bayless’ restaurant group, is the third local dining institution that Linnea has helmed. She previously worked with Jacob and Lisa at Goose Island Brewpub, cultivating her love of beer and hospitality. Linnea’s very first job was at Chicago’s own Potbelly Sandwich Works: that’s where she began her studies in deliciousness. Instagram lmc7496
LISA CARLSON
MANAGER & PRIVATE EVENTS Lisa literally grew up in a bed & breakfast, so hospitality has always been part of her life. She’s a huge supporter of Chicago’s craft beer community — she spent years managing Goose Island’s Clybourn Brewpub — and it’s her mission to introduce the city to the magical pairing of Bieres de Garde and Oaxacan tacos.
NOSHEEN KHAN
BAR MANAGER Nosheen is all about the business: so much so, that in college at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods she majored in business (and marketing.) That being said, there has been a noticeable uptick in fun since Nosheen joined the staff. Nosheen joined us from Formento’s, our delicious Italian restaurant neighbor just across Randolph Street. Instagram noshiface
CONTACT US
Cruz Blanca Brewery & Taquería
904 West Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60607
312-733-1975
info@cruzblanca.com
